Entertainment

Long-delayed Eddie Vedder concert should be special for El Paso

Eddie Vedder will give a solo show Wednesday at the Plaza Theatre. Nerve damage in his right arm forced him to postpone a sold-out show April 17 at the Plaza.

You could say that Eddie Vedder's solo concert Wednesday at the Plaza Theatre was a long time coming.

The Pearl Jam frontman hasn't performed in this area since Sept. 14, 1995, when his band sold out NMSU's Pan Am Center in Las Cruces. Punk legends the Ramones opened the show.

That 17-year gap would have been a little shorter had the singer not suffered nerve damage in his right arm. The problem forced him to postpone a spring solo tour, including a sold-out show April 17 at the Plaza.

The April date sold out "within a couple of days," said Carol McNeal, director of sales and marketing for the theater. That's pretty fast for a market that's notorious for waiting until the last minute to buy tickets, especially ones priced at $75 (plus service charges).

McNeal said a "very small percentage" refunded their tickets, and she's predicting a sellout Wednesday.

The Pan Am show in 1995 was "one of those instant sell-outs," said Bobbie Welch, who handles booking and marketing for the arena.

What makes Eddie Vedder so special?

Welch, who has traveled to Pearl Jam shows in other cities, said he's in "the pantheon" of iconic stars.

"It's always important when one of those artists comes through," she said. "It kind of validates El Paso."

McNeal called him "an icon of the rock world," adding the Plaza show offers a rare chance to see him in a small, intimate setting.

"The thought of him coming here, and getting to see him up close and personal, is amazing," she said.

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It's certainly a rarity.

The 47-year-old singer, songwriter, guitarist, sports fanatic, philanthropist and political activist has been with Pearl Jam since it was named for NBA player Mookie Blaylock in 1991.

But Vedder didn't venture out on a solo tour until 2008, the year after he released his first solo album "Into the Wild," which doubled as the soundtrack for the movie of the same name.

A DVD of that first solo tour, "Water on the Road," was released on May 31, 2011, the same day Vedder released his second solo album, "Ukulele Songs," a low-key collection of original and cover songs on which Vedder accompanied himself on the small stringed instrument. "Ukulele Songs" was nominated for a Grammy for best folk album.

Vedder also opened Pearl Jam's 2007 shows with a short solo preamble.

His solo shows have been quieter, more intimate affairs than the gnarling guitars, pounding rhythms and snarled vocals typical of a Pearl Jam concert. He performs alone on acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards and ukulele.

On this tour, opener Glen Hansard, the former Frames frontman and Oscar-winning songwriter in "Once," may join him for a few songs.

Vedder's song choices can vary from night to night. A summer European tour, his first there without Pearl Jam, included their "Lukin," "I Am Mine" and "Better Man,"; solo songs such as "Far Behind," "Rise" and "Sleeping By Myself"; plus Bruce Springsteen's "Open All Night," Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" and the Beatles' "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away."

"That's the one advantage of playing alone," he told MTV Hive, "you can work out new stuff day of show, or during the show, for that matter. There's a sharper turning radius."

The tour comes as Pearl Jam, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, has been working on its 10th studio album. Various members are pursuing outside projects and tours. The band has played a handful of shows this year, including Jay-Z's Made in America festival in September, and will headline Lollapalooza Brazil in March and a show in Argentina in April.

Vedder wasn't sitting around waiting for his 22-show solo tour, which opened Halloween night in Las Vegas. He joined Bruce Springsteen and Kings of Leon on stage in September, and opened for Guns 'N Roses at Neil Young's Bridges School Benefit in October.

He also performed a few weeks ago at a fundraiser for Heal EB, which includes his wife, model Jill McCormick, on its board. Vedder is among the music and sports figures donating to an online auction to raise money for research into epidermolysis bullosa, a group of severe skin diseases that affect 100,000 Americans. Many are children, some of whom Vedder has met. "I was so moved by the experience," he told MTV Hive. "(It's) something I will never forget and carry with me every day."

Fans who attend Wednesday's concert could get an earful from Vedder about the results of Tuesday's presidential election.

He recently played a $20,000-a-plate fundraiser for President Barack Obama in Tampa, Fla., which raised $1.7 million. At the event, he assailed challenger Mitt Romney's infamous "47 percent" remarks, in which the challenger suggested that people who accept government aid don't "take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

Vedder told the audience that as a young man, he worried he wouldn't make it in music and signed up for a government security guard program, leading to a job with a petroleum company.

"It was that job which allowed me to keep affording guitars and microphones," Vedder said, according to Hollywood Reporter. "For me, it all began with that ability to get the proper training for a decent job."

Doug Pullen may be reached at dpullen@elpasotimes.com; 546-6397. Read Pullen My Blog at elpasotimes.com/blogs. Follow him on Twitter @dougpullen.

make plans

Who: Eddie Vedder, with Glen Hansard.

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: Plaza Theatre.

How much: $75, plus service charges, at the box office and through Ticketmaster, ticketmaster.com and 800-745-3000.